-1-

After that day, Shan Cha was always in a daze.

-2-

Apart from training, she just sat in the place where she used to feed the cats and stared blankly.

Some stray animals, accustomed to being fed, would come over, gently barking and rubbing against her knees. They would lie down on the ground, exposing their bellies in a practiced manner to please her. Shancha also...

I never reached out to touch them again.

Because, looking at those stray animals baring their bellies and muting their cries for a bite of food, she finally thought...thought...

You whore!

You're a whore—and you have mercy on me?!

-3-

Shancha finally realized that she was no different from these animals begging for food.

Show your belly and take off your clothes.

Soften your voice and give a seductive look.

...Just for that bite of rice.

[Prostitute].

-4-

The person she had always dreamed of becoming, the person she looked forward to becoming, turned out to be someone who, in the eyes of those people, had no right to even "show mercy."

...A crazy woman who has lost her husband, children, and all her wealth will not feel that she is as humble as a prostitute.

So, what exactly is a prostitute?

What's the difference between the boss lady making money from customers by selling beef noodles and her making money from customers by taking off her clothes and dancing?

-5-

Shancha doesn't understand.

She sat with her knees hugged in the place where she used to feed stray animals, her eyes empty, and no one knew what she was thinking.

-6-

...What should I think about?

That day, she saved up all the money and asked her mother all the questions.

Why can't prostitutes have mercy on others?

Why did the boss lady go completely crazy?

Why are these people - this city - which clearly smells of meat and fat - more terrifying than the hungry refugees?

The latter didn't give any answer, just wrinkled his face and twisted his lips silently.

Those lips may have belonged to a beautiful girl in the past, but they have lost their delicate color after being caressed countless times and are only covered with thick lip balm.

Shiny and red as if someone had eaten it.

-7-

Maybe she really did eat people. After all, she had personally trained countless girls who were sold there, and she had also personally whipped children who tried to escape over the wall.

But, is this because she is bad? Is it because she is born to want to eat people?

Camellia never feels that way.

She is the most obedient and beautiful young prostitute, and she ranks first in all her subjects. She is determined to become the next generation of the top courtesan of the Golden Scale Pavilion. Therefore, Shancha is the old mother's favorite student and the child she cares about the most.

The old mother turned a blind eye and allowed Shan Cha to take the leftovers to feed the cats and dogs. If Shan Cha didn't understand something, she would ask her for her opinion.

Shancha said that the old lady was not a bad person.

Even if she is wearing lip balm that says she has been eaten by someone, she is still just a girl who has been eaten by someone.

-8-

Faced with her questions one by one, the old mother did not give any answers that day.

She just said, that's because you don't know what a prostitute is, Shancha, you're a fool.

Fools are good, and fools are most suitable to be prostitutes.

-9-

Shancha became more and more confused.

How could she not know what a prostitute was? She had spent over a decade studying how to be a good prostitute.

She can sing, play the piano, dance, take off her clothes, and knows all kinds of ways to serve guests. No other girl of her age knows more than her.

But why do they still say that she doesn't know what a prostitute is?

-10-

Maybe it's because Shancha no longer feeds stray animals frequently and just sits in the corner with her knees hugged...

That particular black cat is appearing more frequently.

Shancha had long noticed that it didn't seem to like her feeding other stray animals. That special black cat also had a strange arrogance towards its own kind, as if it always squatted in the darkest shadows, looking down at other humans with a condescending gaze.

She was a little confused, but more than that, she just thought it was particularly cute.

A small black cat, but its arrogance is greater than that of the princes and nobles standing at the top of this city.

-11-

The black cat came in through the hole in the wall more frequently, even when Shancha was in a daze and had not prepared any rice porridge for it.

Every time it came, it was injured, some big, some small, with more or less blood on its body. All Shancha could do was bandage it with cotton cloth.

However, the black cat had no scars on its body and never looked weak because of the wounds.

It's a truly unique black cat. ...Is it really a black cat? No matter how many injuries it sustains, it remains agile and nimble. Years later, its appearance remains the same as when I first met it.

"Are you... a monster?"

The black cat looked up at her, said nothing, and just snuggled into her arms, curled up, closed its eyes and fell asleep.

Shancha gently lowered her hand and gently stroked the hair on the top of its head, just like she did when she first fed it.

-12-

So what?

There are many things in this city that are scarier than monsters.

-13-

She...the only thing that can be considered a relative...is it.

-14-

Stroking the black cat sleeping on her lap, Shancha vaguely understood something.

It never came to beg for food by wagging its tail, nor did it crawl through the hole in the wall to find her for a mouthful of instant rice.

It just likes to be close to her and likes to listen to her talk.

-15-

Whether she is a prostitute or not...it doesn't even know what a prostitute is.

I know, but maybe I won't care? After all, it's a special kitten that looks down on all humans.

Shancha sighed softly. It was the first time in her life that she sighed, but it wouldn't be the last.

"Why is that..."

-16-

It doesn't understand Camellia's sigh.

It has been wandering since its birth until now, and has never sighed - because it has no helplessness, it does not understand what helplessness and confusion are.

After all, it is not a human.

Maybe it will stare at the rattle in the hands of a street child, or it may be attracted by the beautiful new dress on Camellia, but it doesn’t matter if it doesn’t have these, and there is no regret in turning its head away.

It has never understood the meaning of "liking" and "owning", and it is not a living being at all.

-17-

But Camellia knows a lot.

Sometimes, when I listen to the camellia talking, I feel a little strange - what would happen if I shook a rattle between my fingers? What would happen if I put on a beautiful colored dress and danced?

But it is a banshee, and besides the shadows, it has only the few shrouds it was first born in.

...It has nothing, or maybe it doesn't want to think about anything.

Yearning is something only humans possess. The Banshee has nothing but the pursuit of death.

-18-

Ever since the bowl of beef noodles was splashed on her, Shancha hugged her and talked a lot.

Her youthful eyes and eyebrows matured day by day, and her gaze was no longer simply on the food, but on the various people coming and going.

Man, woman.

The people of this city.

Her thoughts became deeper and deeper, and the smile on her lips became shallower and shallower, until it gradually became an exquisitely crafted and eye-catching painting.

It didn't quite understand Shancha's changes, just like it didn't understand why Shancha was becoming more and more nagging, making its ears buzz and hurt. She was no different from her old mother whom she always complained about being too nagging.

And why not focus on food?

Let’s discuss steamed buns, sesame cakes and dumplings, how nice!

It doesn't want to pay attention to those messy humans. It just wants to listen to Shancha discussing crabs, steamed buns, and beef noodles with it.

It can't afford to eat those things, but it's good to listen to them.

Eating, drinking and having fun, these are the only things it has ever cared about.

-19-

But Shancha no longer paid attention.

She no longer cared about whether she could eat enough or whether the food tasted good. She began to pay attention to more complex and profound things, things she didn't understand at all and didn't care about.

Why do humans care about so many things?

Human beings will always die, and every human being dies cleanly, leaving nothing behind.

...It has tasted death countless times, and it does not understand why humans are obsessed with things that cannot be tied to death.

So it's a little bit lost and a little bit angry.

-20-

People grow up and change.

The immature self is different from the mature self.

And it only takes a moment for humans to grow from immaturity to maturity——

For a banshee to grow from immaturity to maturity, she may have to go through tens of thousands of deaths and thousands of years of time.

...The young banshee didn't understand this yet, but she inexplicably felt that Shancha was getting farther and farther away. Even when she had been kind enough to feed a lot of stray animals, forcing Shancha to avoid her...it had never been as far away as it was now.

She was the only human cub that offered him regular sacrifices, and he wouldn't allow... didn't want her... to stay away.

-twenty one-

It stretched out its claws and hooked the corner of her sleeve. The maturing Camellia came to her senses and held it with a smile.

"What's the matter? This is a new skirt. Don't smear it. You'll have to pay for it if you damage it."

...human beings.

After all, we are still human beings.

-twenty two-

"Hey, human."

For the first time, it spoke: "Make me some soup with rice."

"A bowl of soup with rice, and I'll protect you for life."

-twenty three-

So, stop thinking about those boring things.

I will ensure you live a peaceful life and die in peace – isn’t that enough?

Keep chatting with me about food, drink and fun.

Keep talking to me about the things you used to care about.

-twenty four-

Shancha's eyes widened.

“You…you…”

"I can talk. Why, don't you always think I'm a monster?"

It changed its sitting position and said, "You can understand it this way. It's not strange that monsters can talk."

——Shancha stepped back suddenly, and her cleanly trimmed nails hurriedly dug into the soil of the courtyard.

The black cat, who was suddenly thrown off her knees, was visibly stunned.

It turned its head and glanced at her, its dark eyes showing a blank expression: "Are you... afraid of me?"

-25-

Of course I am afraid.

What human isn't afraid of a talking cat?

Even if, even if... Shancha clenched her fingers, more dirt seeping into the cracks between her nails...

No.

This is the cat.

The special kitten she had raised for so many years.

-26-

Shancha took a deep breath, suppressing the trembling in her voice and her rapid heartbeat.

She finally learned to smile gently and calmly a few days ago. Fortunately, she did.

"How could it be... No, I'm not afraid of you."

-27-

Shancha is a kind girl, and that was a white lie.

But it has never heard humans lie to themselves. Death does not lie.

——It believed it easily, and its tail began to wag happily again.

"Hmph, in that case, go make me some rice porridge. I want chicken broth rice porridge, with lots of chicken."

-28-

This white lie seemed to be of no use, because Shancha still stumbled over to bring it some rice porridge, and then bravely put aside her fear to get closer to it, take better care of it, and even made many things for it that were more delicious than rice porridge.

But, what does the lie told at the first meeting mean?

Neither the prostitute nor the kitten knew about this at the time.

Whether or not to hide the fear at first sight is like whether or not to distinguish twins at first sight. It means something and determines something in the dark.

-29-

The cat she had raised for many years began to speak - Shancha had no time to pay attention to it or to explore it, because she was about to prepare for her official debut.

In the Jinlin Pavilion, the formal appearance of a young prostitute is very important, as it will determine her status in the pavilion: the status of her jewelry, her clothing, her travel and work, and the status of the guests she serves.

Just like the courtesan sitting on the highest platform in the Golden Scale Pavilion, she is even qualified to choose her own customers, decide the content of her own work, and "sell her art but not her body."

Of course, everyone knows that the brothel's "selling art but not selling bodies" is just a fig leaf. The truly powerful princes and nobles can have any woman they want - to put it bluntly, high-class prostitutes and low-class prostitutes are just prostitutes.

But, at least, the courtesan of Jinlin Pavilion has a seemingly beautiful fig leaf.

Other prostitutes don't even have this fig leaf.

-30-

The Golden Scale Pavilion is the most prosperous building in this city, and the courtesan of the Golden Scale Pavilion is the most beautiful woman in this city.

In essence, it is just the most profitable brothel and the most profitable woman in the brothel.

The Oiran will not serve customers easily. She sits on the highest platform and looks bright and beautiful. This is simply because the Oiran stays "clean" so that she can attract customers of higher status and sell for a higher price.

-31-

Shancha was very much favored by the old mother. Even though the gentle smile on her lips later became further and further away from the word "fool", she still ranked first in all her subjects and her determination to become an oiran was still extremely positive.

In fact, she has been secretly chosen as the next courtesan - as long as she performs well enough on the night she goes on stage and attracts the attention of the customers.

The owner of Jinlin Pavilion had no doubt that Shancha could earn him more money than the current top courtesan: Shancha was much gentler in character than the current top courtesan, and also much more beautiful.

-32-

The current courtesan of Jinlin Pavilion was notorious for her bad temper. She could break the hand of a maid who picked up the wrong hairpin, and would directly call her thugs to throw out any annoying customer. Although she was both talented and beautiful, she had a cold and arrogant personality.

The prerequisite for the "Ice Beauty" to be popular is "beauty". In a brothel, if the current courtesan is not beautiful enough, her cold and arrogant personality can directly make her the girl who suffers the most.

There was no problem in the past because she was beautiful enough, the most beautiful woman in the city.

Now……

Young Camellia, she is so beautiful.

Gentle, quiet, with curved eyebrows and eyes, her smile is as bright as spring.

-33-

[The current oiran is still sitting on the stage. How can I hold up the camellia and become the oiran? ]

So the boss gave a very simple solution.

——【Pick a night and sell out that bad-tempered former courtesan completely.】

After the courtesan was sold to a customer openly, she became inferior and could no longer be called the "courtesan". She could no longer sit on a high platform and become the unattainable object of all men.

-34-

So, Camellia doesn’t know.

The night she performed on stage was the night when the new courtesan of Jinlin Pavilion performed on stage.

It was also the night when the former courtesan was completely sold to a customer.

The customer who will buy the oiran has already been chosen - he is the customer that the oiran once hated the most, but he can afford the highest price.

The fat and greasy man could not only afford the highest price, but also gave the boss a lot of jade and antiques, saying that he wanted to hold a "public performance" to show everyone how he owned the most beautiful woman in Jinlin Pavilion.

The boss agreed.

-35-

The boss had no reason to disagree; the highest-class prostitute was still just a prostitute.

-36-

If the girl who was about to be sold out and had to serve the most hated customer as a "public performance" was Shancha, perhaps she would not have any emotions.

Even if she begins to understand what other people are thinking, even if she begins to truly understand what a "prostitute" is, Shancha will not put herself on a pedestal.

She has never been noble, nor has she had the capital to be arrogant.

Shancha always remembered that she was a refugee who was almost starving to death and was sold into a brothel for two steamed buns. After she ate the brothel's food, she would do the brothel's work calmly, without despair or anger.

Everyone said that Shancha was a fool who didn't understand what a prostitute was - but Shancha knew herself well, and she knew better than anyone that she was a prostitute.

-37-

In the past, she just didn't understand why even crazy people looked down on prostitutes. She thought that prostitutes sold their bodies, just like the boss lady selling beef noodles, which was just a job to earn money to eat.

…She understood now, but there was nothing to complain about.

Shancha had no money to open a shop to sell powder from the beginning, so how could she have the capital to despise her identity as a prostitute?

Her parents starved to death early, and she was raised in a brothel, so she will work hard to earn back all the money she spent on the brothel's upbringing, and then... she'll talk about it later.

This is Shancha’s idea.

-38-

——But, after all, she is not the old courtesan who is about to be sold.

The old name of the flower is wintersweet, and as its name suggests, it is a beautiful flower that blooms even in the cold winter.

Unlike Shancha, who became a refugee due to the war and whose childhood dream was to successfully snatch grasshoppers to eat, Lamei was born into a noble family. She was once the daughter of an official in this city who was pampered in the courtyard. She was well-read in poetry, books, etiquette, and the Book of Changes, and worked hard to learn music, chess, calligraphy, and painting.

She had never suffered hardship, wandered around, or been hungry. Her hands were delicate and white, the result of being pampered.

Wintersweet knows a lot. She knows too much.

She would have married one of the city's most powerful princes and nobles, and become a noblewoman whom ordinary people would never even see - if her father had not been investigated for corruption and bribery, and the entire family of men had not been beheaded, and the women had not been made prostitutes.

When Lamei first entered the Jinlin Pavilion, she was locked in a dark room by the old mother and scolded for four days and four nights. She was whipped countless times by the boss, but she never lowered her status as a rich lady and agreed to become a prostitute.

She yelled and cursed, saying that all the women in the building were shameless whores, all the men were brainless pigs, and that the prostitutes were so depraved that they were worse than pigs and dogs. She said she would rather die to prove her innocence.

Until the boss said that there was no use for such a disobedient beauty, so just sell her to a brothel in the west where homeless people gathered as a slave.

-39-

As for death?

You are a commodity being sold. Others tie your hands and feet with cloth and ropes, cut off your tongue, and feed you some medicine that you cannot resist - do you think the right to die is still in your own hands?

...So, the wintersweet finally lowered its head.

-40-

Who wants to die when they can live?

...What else can you do when you can't even die?

-41-

She reluctantly put away the reserve and integrity she had learned in the first half of her life, and fought hard to become the most powerful prostitute -

The courtesan of Jinlin Pavilion can at least choose her guests freely, and can at least enter and exit the banquet venues she once attended, retaining the little dignity she once had as a young lady.

She will not become a low-class whore to be trampled upon by anyone.

I won’t even die.

-42-

But now, she is going to be replaced.

She could no longer be an oiran. Now that she was no longer an oiran, she had been booked to a client she hated the most, to do the thing she hated the most.

"Public performance"... Ha. Haha.

Is that the end for her?

-43-

Lamei lifted the curtains by the window and quietly looked at the little girl who was curled up in a desolate corner, hugging a black cat and muttering to herself.

The little girl who was to replace her was not yet an adult.

In the past, she would just grab a handful of candy from the fruit bowl and give it to a little girl of her age.

But in this place, girls who are far from adulthood are already prostituting themselves on the stage.

...Camellia.

Yes, let’s call it Camellia.

What was her last name? What was her first name? None of it mattered here, all was erased, leaving only the names of the flowers—ha.

People like them live a life worse than flowers.

-44-

Lamei clenched her fingers and suddenly remembered that Shancha used to be her maid. She was obedient and well-behaved, and followed her around, calling her sister, with her eyes full of longing and yearning for her.

Wintersweet knows a lot.

She had read poetry, books, etiquette and the Book of Changes, and she knew much more than these shameless prostitutes in the building. She knew that life was not just about selling smiles and bodies and pleasing customers.

When she was the most beautiful courtesan, they all said that she was the most beautiful woman in the city, as well as the smartest and most noble woman.

...But soon, she was no longer the top courtesan and could no longer sit on that high platform.

-45-

Wintersweet's fingers clenched tighter and tighter.

The boss said... because Shancha is more gentle... because Shancha is more beautiful... because Shancha is more suitable than her...

hehe.

No.

No one is more suitable to be an oiran than her - no, in this building, only she can be called noble, and only she can stay away from those low-class prostitutes!

...never.

-46-

Lamei lowered the curtain, turned around, and tightly grasped the heavy hairpin.

-47-

She was already the most popular courtesan, and she didn't believe she would ever be the same again...

The right to die was back in her own hands.

-48-

It is a very simple matter for the courtesan of Jinlin Pavilion to send some perfume to a young prostitute who has not yet performed on stage.

As long as Shancha doesn't go out, she will still be the most popular courtesan.

...As long as Shancha can no longer perform, she will still be the most popular courtesan.

-49-

Not a whore, not a prostitute, so no need to perform in public.

She is a high-ranking courtesan with the most noble status.

-50-

Winter plum quietly walked into Shancha's room. The incense burning in the corner of the room made her sleep soundly.

She couldn't wake up.

Lamei knew that she would never wake up again.

-51-

She slowly sat down beside her bed, her beautiful dress, which belonged to the style of an oiran, brushing against Shancha's slightly plain sleeves.

Lamei gently touched the girl's face.

little girl.

A little girl who had no grudge against her and had only met her a few times.

but……

-52-

From her gorgeous sleeves inlaid with gold and jade, Lamei pulled out the heavy golden hairpin that Shancha had once put in her hair.

She thrust it in. Without hesitation.

-53-

Don't blame her.

Don't blame anyone.

Camellia wants to be the top courtesan, and wintersweet also wants to be the top courtesan - Camellia knows less, and wintersweet knows more - it's that simple, it's that simple!

Winter plum poked it once, and poked it again, and poked it again, and poked it more and more——

She stabbed the girl's beautiful face, her underdeveloped chest, her fair arms, and her dancing legs.

She clenched her fingers tightly, pinched the hem of her gorgeous skirt, and poked the little girl again and again.

-54-

Until the beautiful and gentle little girl turned into a pile of flesh on the bed with no visible features.

-55-

The wintersweet is still poking.

Hold the hairpin tightly, poke it in, pull it out, and poke it in again...it's that simple.

So... simple.

-56-

La Mei's arms were extremely sore, and the head of the golden hairpin was almost bent. Everything in her vision turned into a blurry mass of flesh and blood. She didn't even know whether the beads falling from her eyes were sweat or something else.

Wintersweet... Wintersweet wants to continue being the top courtesan.

Wintersweet doesn't want to perform in public.

Wintersweet wants to continue living.

Wintersweet is a courtesan who has experienced many things. She knows more than camellia. She knows that sometimes, in order to survive, she must be hard-hearted and hold the hairpin tightly in her hand.

-57-

To survive.

Camellia must die.

-58-

In a brothel, no one can survive without paying a price.

There can be no pure kindness or innocent girls.

-59-

Maybe some naive fool would say... why kill her? Maybe we can just scratch her face...

No.

It would be better for a young prostitute with a rotten face to be stabbed to death than to be alive in this place.

Living... living... living is much harder than dying.

-60-

Lamei straightened up, threw the bent golden hairpin aside, and breathed heavily.

Jinlin Pavilion...this city...everyone does it to survive.

She just wanted to live.

"Don't blame me...little sister."

-61-

There was blood all over the floor.

Lamei staggered out of the room, with beads of water still falling on her face, not sure if they were sweat or rain.

-62-

——Camellia died just like that.

La Mei lit the highest grade of incense for her. She died peacefully in her sleep. Even though her body was almost turned into a pulp by the hairpin, she still did not feel any pain.

There was nothing complicated about her death, it was just someone wanting to live.

Before she fell asleep, she was still looking forward to the night when she would perform.

-63-

Therefore, her death was still the same as when she was tied in that basket many years ago, simple and kind, exuding the fragrance of a child, full of hope.

And so, just as she had done so many years before, her death brought forth a banshee.

-64-

...It seems to be late.

But, it doesn’t seem too late.

The black cat crawled out from the shadows, jumped off the windowsill, and stepped on the flowing blood with its claws.

It hates blood and in the past, it would definitely avoid these bright red things.

But, this is Camellia's blood.

...a human cub that wholeheartedly worships it.

-65-

The black cat jumped onto the bed, and its paw pads left glaring wintersweet marks on the only remaining clean corner of the quilt.

It lowered its head and looked at the blurry corpse quietly.

-66-

She died a miserable death.

I don’t know how many times she had been stabbed. There were only bleeding holes on her beautiful face, and her death expression contained another person’s boundless despair and anger.

But... when she died... it wasn't painful.

The murderer didn't let her feel any pain. Shancha died in her sleep.

-67-

The black cat tilted its head.

It didn't understand. Even after swallowing countless deaths, it still didn't understand why a murderer could be so gentle to the victim while stabbing countless times.

It is not a living being, and it does not understand the pain of human life.

...So what if you know more?

To put it bluntly, it's just that I have no power.

-68-

Shan Cha had no strength to escape and was killed.

Her killer didn't have the strength to leave.

Humanity...

What's the point of pondering so many complicated things...

Not strong enough.

It's really too weak.

-69-

The black cat extended its paw, lowered its head, and gently touched the spot on Camellia's body where her cheek should have been.

Humans... never mind.

This was the first time she had offered her a human cub. This was the one she had promised to protect her throughout her life.

Then... let's make an exception.

-70-

The Banshee has two chances to choose.

Although it didn't want to use it, it just considered it as protecting her.

【I will choose your death.】

[Thus I was born a second time...transformed...swallowed all that was in this death...]

【Let you have life again. 】

-71-

The black cat disappeared and expanded into a huge black shadow.

It swallowed the girl's death - chose the girl's death - and used it as the source of its own rebirth -

The shadow grew a little bigger, as if it had gained some power.

Then, it slowly, slowly shrank... The blood in the room flowed back, the pierced flesh healed, and the girl sleeping in the bed had a beautiful face again—

-72-

The Banshee was born again.

Maybe it wasted an opportunity to become stronger, but it doesn’t matter, it never cares.

It is a banshee who only keeps her promises and never lies. If she says she will protect a human being for his or her entire life, she will definitely do it.

-73-

The next day, night.

On the high platform of Jinlin Pavilion, the most beautiful courtesan Lamei of Jinlin Pavilion is still sitting.

There was a heavy gold hairpin missing from her intricate and beautiful bun, but it didn't matter, as she had so many more beautiful hairpins.

The guests below the stage were toasting each other and talking in a bustling atmosphere - tonight was supposed to be the night when the previous top courtesan was sold to that man and gave a public performance, and it was also the day when the next top courtesan would officially appear. The Golden Scale Pavilion was almost packed with people, all wanting to watch the excitement.

...As for whether to watch the former top courtesan’s public “performance” or the next top courtesan’s appearance, why should we make such a clear distinction?

People in this city just love to watch the fun.

-74-

But the girl who was going to be the courtesan seemed to have disappeared. People could not find her. The servants in the building were huddled together. The boss was knocking his pipe on the second floor with a frown on his face. The old mother who was in charge of training the girl looked panicked.

The courtesan of Jinlin Pavilion was still sitting on the high platform. No one pulled her to serve the customer. There was no one in the open room where the public "performance" was supposed to take place.

If the girl cannot be found, there will be no one qualified to replace her as the next top courtesan.

But she didn't laugh.

He just sat there with a frozen expression on his face, almost like a corpse frozen in the snow.

-75-

The boss finally lost his patience.

She twisted her pipe vigorously and scolded in a low voice: "If you can't find it, just return the customer's money and let Lamei continue to sit there--"

"Tick, tick, tick."

It was the little wooden shoes that were gradually approaching, knocking on the exquisite high platform of the Golden Scale Pavilion.

-76-

The boss stopped talking, the old lady breathed a sigh of relief, and the guests in the audience quieted down and stopped drinking or making noise.

The girl with black hair and black eyes walked up to the stage with a sweet smile on her lips.

Her skirt and bun were too plain, and her long hair was casually tied up with only a curved gold hairpin. A maple leaf was stuck next to the hairpin, swinging like a child's rattle when she walked, but it was more attractive than any jewelry.

She is very beautiful.

Beautiful and mysterious.

-77-

The oiran sitting on the high platform slowly turned around, and her frozen expression seemed to tremble.

The girl came toward her, her wooden shoes clacking, her legs light and her arms white, and her face more beautiful than all the jewels on her head put together.

She bent down, took off the golden hairpin on her head, handed it to her gently, and whispered:

-78-

"This time, do you want me to help you die?"

-79-

——This city is the most prosperous city in the world, and Jinlin Pavilion is the most prosperous building in this city.

The oiran in the Golden Scale Pavilion is the most beautiful girl in this city and in this world.

Her flower name is Camellia, but for some reason, she wore a maple leaf on her head on the night of her first performance.

She was a girl who loved to laugh, with black hair and black eyes. On the night of her first performance, she smiled particularly sweetly.

The courtesan of Jinlin Pavilion would become her pursuer after seeing her once, and would fall in love with her completely after seeing her a second time.

-80-

It's human nature to always seek what is beyond our reach.

As for what you said, the former courtesan?

...I can't remember what her name was, but it seemed to be the name of a flower...On the night when the courtesan performed on stage, she suddenly went mad, stabbed herself to death with a golden hairpin, and fell on the podium.

But that doesn't matter.

At that time, all the guests were looking at the new courtesan's sweet and beautiful smile, and no one paid attention to the body lying on the podium.

The corpse can't be called sweet and beautiful at all, at most it can be called "unlucky".

-81-

—— Shancha stayed in her room for half a month before she stood up again and learned how to use her recovered body.

The monster that transformed from a black cat into a girl was very kind to her. She seemed to have cast some magic on the room. No one in the brothel noticed that Shancha stayed in her room, and no one noticed that there was a second "Shancha".

Shancha looked at the monster dressed up as her, dancing, singing, and smiling to please people, and she didn't know what to say.

-82-

She still finds it hard to believe what the monster said with a smile on his face as he lay on her shoulder, "You were just stabbed to death while you were sleeping." She also finds it hard to believe that this girl is the black cat she once fed.

…She is exactly like her.

Exactly the same.

Like a reflection in water.

-83-

"Of course it's the same."

The monster held his chin in his hand and said at her bedside, "How else can I help you cover up? Isn't it your dream to be an oiran? A girl who has been missing for half a month can't be an oiran."

Shancha said nothing. She continued to stare at her face, her expression utterly dazed, as if she were dreaming.

"How does it feel?" The monster tilted its head. "It's like looking in a mirror, isn't it?"

……no.

Shancha said seriously, "Your smile is sweeter than mine. You are cuter."

The monster was stunned for a moment, then curled his eyes in great joy.

"Of course! I'm the cutest banshee!"

“…Yeah, of course.”

-84-

She raised her hand and gently placed it on top of her head.

The same black hair as mine.

...but it feels different to the touch.

Soft. Furry. Like a small animal...

Camellia met the monster's eyes, dark eyes that were much simpler than her own.

...It's like a long time ago, when my mind was filled with steamed buns, steamed buns, and beef noodles.

Silly self.

-85-

"Get well soon.